1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to golf clubs, and more particularly to an adjustable putter which is adjustable for weight, left or right handed operation, positive or negative loft, lie, and which also incorporates an adjustable mass, resilient rubber striking face.
1. Background
No club in the golfer's ensemble of clubs is used more often than a putter. A typical round of golf involves 18 holes of play. A par round of golf for most courses constitutes 72 strokes. "Regulation" golf usually involves a drive, a second shot on to the green, and two putts. That being the case, 36 strokes in a typical par round of golf will be putts. Of course, for most golfers the putter will be used even more often depending on the golfer's ability.
This being the case, in is no wonder that so much attention is focused on the putting aspect of the game. Golfers often appear obsessed with their putters, and many golfers are known to have more than one if not many putters which they have used from time to time in the search for the perfect putter.
Putters have been constructed of a variety of materials and have exhibited a multitude of designs. Conventional putting "wisdom", demonstrated by the majority of these designs, teaches that a golf putter typically has a metal head having a face with a positive loft of several degrees. In a recent article appearing in TODAY'S GOLFER, the author claims that loft on a putter is needed to aid roll. See TODAY'S GOLFER, July, 1994, "A Putter's Dozen", page 200.
Most putters do, in fact, have several degrees of loft. When a ball is putted it moves across the green initially by sliding. As the frictional forces of the green cause the spin rate of the ball to increase, the ball eventually stops sliding and begins to spin or roll. It is while the ball is rolling that the putt has the greatest amount of directional stability due primarily to the inertia created by the rolling ball.
Therefore, it would follow that the sooner the ball begins to roll, the greater the control that the player will have over his putt. It is particularly true on very well kept greens. By using a putter having a negative loft, top spin is imparted on the ball when struck, increasing the tendency of the ball to roll rather than slide.
Nevertheless, at times the player would be advantaged if the putter did in fact have several degrees of positive loft, for example, when playing off a fringe or when playing long putts or putts on greens which are not so well kept. In these instances a few degrees of positive loft may be beneficial for moving the ball nearer the hole.
Accordingly, it would be of benefit to the experienced putter to be able to interchange between a positive loft and a negative loft striking face, depending upon course and play conditions.
In addition, it would be advantageous to incorporate other features into the putter which enable the golfer to adjust the putter to the golfer's particular needs. These include an adjustable lie, wherein the angle of inclination at which the club shaft and attached hosel intersect with the head assembly can be adjusted between a more upright, or vertical/perpendicular angle of engagement to a flatter lie. Other adjustments would include adjustable shaft lengths, and weight of the putter.
In the prior art, putters are typically constructed of metal, either cast or forged. Additionally, in the prior art, no adjustments or modifications are made to control rebounding of the golf ball off of the hard face of the putter.
Accordingly, among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a golf putter having the following features: adjustable weight, loft, lie, and shaft length. In addition, it is an object of this invention to improve the "feel" of the golf putter by providing a bonded rubber coating to the striking face of the putter.
It is to be pointed out that in regulation golf play, the golfer is prohibited, by current regulations, from changing the configuration of the putter once play has been initiated. However, even with such a restriction, a golfer using my present invention will enjoy substantial advantages in that he or she will be able to configure the golf putter to meet the particular course and current grounds conditions before regulation play begins.